Ghosts from the Past - part 1/?
by Cairnsy
Summary: While Duos dreams are being haunted by a mysterous woman, the pilots are dealing with a mission of incredible importance.


Note: Will eventually later contain some yaoi, but not for a while *grin* 

**Ghosts from the past**

Dusk was setting over the ancient dojo, basking it in a surreal glow. He made his way up the worn, wooden steps. Led solely by an implacable instinct, he navigated through the deserted corridors until he found himself standing outside what appeared to be a training room. 

"Come in, you are always welcome here" A voice rose from the courner, immediately catching his attention. His breath caught in his throat as the owner of the silky, feminine voice stepped out of the shadows, her lithe frame gracefully covering the space between them until they were face to face. Silky black hair was whisked high up in a lose bun, highlighting her obviously oriental features. The kimono that clung to her body shone of differing shades of green, seemingly coming to life as she moved. A hazardous guess put her age in the mid twenties, yet there was something in her eyes that seemed to reflect an age old wisdom. 

She may have been almost twice his age, but she was still a babe. 

"Why don't we sit down?" She said pleasantly, gesturing to the uncovered floor before sitting down, cross legged. With a shrug he dropped down beside her. 

"I've summoned you here for a reason Duo" She spoke up as soon as he had got comfortable. She chuckled slightly at the shocked expression that darted across his face. 

"You would be surprised by just how knowledgeable I am when it comes to you Mr Maxwell - you've been the recipient of much study on behalf" She broke off for a minute to adjust her kimono. Duo knew that he should feel alarmed, yet there was something about the dojo, about this woman, that made him trust her explicitly. 

"Why?" He asked simply instead. 

"Of the three it is your nature that burns brightest, that provides the needed catalyst. Pain is a well known friend of yours, yet you have managed to rise above it and ~live~" With a gentle smile she stood up. 

"Of the three, you are the best option" 

"What exactly is it you want me to do?" Duo asked, a hint of exasperation in his voice. Couldn't the lady get to the point all ready? 

"The answer is one that your mind knows, but of yet has not acknowledged" She smiled charmingly down at him. 

"Remember, dear Duo, you don't have to be in a crowd to be alone." His eyes widened in disbelief as the woman faded away as a soft green mist evolved her. 

~~~~~~~ 

"What a fascinating dream" Quatre murmured, a cup of tea held snugly in his two hands. The drink provided a duel purpose, not only serving as a wake up call for the other pilot but also as a form of warmth against the bitter chill of the mid winter morning. 

"Yeah - it was weird I can tell you, it just seemed so *real*. What time are Hilde and Heero rendezvousing with us again?" Duo asked, changing the subject to two of the other members of the mission. Hildes knowledge of the particular Oz base had made her invaluable, and she, along with Heero, were participating in the first wave of the mission. 

"The surveillance shift was for five hours, they should be back here at base in around twenty minutes" Duo let out a sigh as Quatre finished. This mission was steadfast growing in importance. While destroying the base was high up there on the 'to do' list, the rumours that had been picked up by some spies on other bases shed the base in a much more important light than anyone had previously expected. If the sources were correct, then there was a large chance that the base was the home to advanced scientific research on the improvement of Gundams - research that was far better off in hand of the rebels according to the Doctors. 

"You DID remind Heero that flattening the place was completely out of the question right?" 

Quatre responded with a tired glare. 

"Twice" 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Hostages, they were dealing with hostages. The grim looks worn by the other three sitting at the table seemed to reflect his own feelings perfectly. In the five hour watch of the base, Heero and Hilde had witnessed three patrols of three separate groups of prisoners, each group which consisted of 10 people. With twenty minutes separating each group, they were brought out of the concrete building and allowed to walk along the inside of the barbed perimeter for 10 minutes, before being escorted back inside. 

Hostages. Hostages that prevented them from being able to simply level the place if information was too hard to come by. Whatever information was within the building had to bigger than even the most optimistic spies had suspected. 

"One of us should contact the Doctors" Quatre spook up, breaking the tense silence that had fallen over the group following Heeros initial report. 

"I already have" A new voice spoke up from the doorway. Wufei shrugged off his jacket and draped it over a near by chair before joining them at the table. He took the warm mug of tea offered to him by Quatre with a cold nod. 

"Heero got in contact with me after he finished the initial mission to fill me in, it was easier for me to contact them." Instead of sitting he remained on his feet, arms folded loosely across his chest. 

"And hello to you too Wu man!" Duo responded with a wide grin, knowing that the nick name annoyed the other pilot to no end. His smile widened as the other pilot shot him a death glare in response, his eyes narrowing. 

"Maxwell" He replied coolly, before turning back to papers on the table. 

"This is what the Doctors were suggesting ..." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

The dojo was bursting with life and activity this time, stark in contrast to the solitude of his last visit. He weaved his way through the mixture of students and teachers alike as he vainly searched for the mysterious woman he had encountered the night before. 

"All you have to do is concentrate on me Duo" 

Duo blinked, shocked to find himself suddenly in a lush green clearing, the dojo nowhere in sight. He spun around, quickly pinpointing the keeper of the familiar voice. 

"So this is dream world, huh?" Duo replied, taking in his new surroundings. 

"Dream world? What an utterly American interpretation" She replied with a grin. 

"But time is too precious to be wasting it on something as trivial as reality, you have a mission" 

"You mean the hostages? The files?" He asked, confusing tinting his voice. The idea that this woman wanted him to do something associated with the mission seemed as out of place as her. 

"No, this is a mission of moral" Duo felt his eyes roll in response to her answer. 

"What? So you want me to save a kitten from the big, bad, evil tree is that it? Let's see, I should be able to fit that in somewhere between saving humanity and blowing up the bad guys" Sarcasm, and lots of it. 

"Tell me about your friends" The change in subject caught Duo by surprise. 

"You mean the other pilots?" She nodded as she sat down on a flat topped boulder. Duo, for lack of reason not to, sat down beside her. Last time he checked dream characters couldn't contact the enemy with possibly damning information. 

"I suppose the best place to start of with is with Heero. He's a real kick ass type of guy - but a real strong, silent type you know? I've heard some people say he's emotionless - the guy himself likes to encourage his 'perfect soldier' persona, but his strength lies in the fact that while he allows himself to feel, he doesn't need to express it openly. Trowa - the one not on the mission with us, is kinda the same - they're both really deep" He broke off, his eyes locking with the womans. 

"But I've got a feeling you already know that about them" His quiet statement was met with a knowing smile. 

"Quatre has faced his own share of pain, I guess - it's still kinda hard to get other the pampered lifestyle he's lead though. I mean, the guy has servants and *everything*" The disbelief was accompanied by a shake of the head. 

"He's the kind of guy who, if he wasn't so damn nice, I would hate. Really hate" 

"Because he had everything you always wished for" It was a statement, not a question. Duo didn't bother to reply. 

"Wufei is the last of them. And, well Wu, is Wu" A huge grin graced his lips. 

"What is he like?" She asked, her head titled to one side. 

"Wu?" Duo asked, a crease forming on his forehead. 

"Straight laced, I guess. I mean, he's dedicated and all, but he takes it all too seriously. Hung up on *justice* of all things." The frown deepened. 

"Other than that, I don't really know" The admission caused the woman to smile softly, and the familiar green mist started to snake its way around her form. 

"Hey, wait!" He cried almost desperately, and for a moment the mist seemed to still. 

"A name?" the request was simple enough, yet Duo had a feeling he might be trespassing into forbidden ground. The woman seemed to be lost in thought for several moments as she contemplated his request. 

"Komodo" She finally responded, before letting the mist whisk her away.  
~~~~ 

**End part one**


End file.
